The Best One Yet — October 7, 2025

Episode Theme:
Nick and Jack deliver their signature, fast-paced, witty takes on the three biggest pop-biz stories of the day: Alex Cooper’s bold move into creative advertising, Lamborghini and Aston Martin’s ultra-luxe strollers, and CBS News’ radical pivot to “raging moderates.” They also offer a quick economic indicator via the knitting revival and deliver extra headlines with juicy perspective.

Main Stories & Insights

1. Alex Cooper Launches the Unwell Creative Advertising Agency

(Segment starts at 05:59)

• Key Highlights:

  • Alex Cooper, “Call Her Daddy” podcast star, launches the Unwell Advertising Agency instead of the usual celebrity product lines (tequila, protein, etc.).
  • First clients: Google and T-Mobile. The agency produces a commercial starring Alex, an SNL comedian, and the Italian actress from “White Lotus,” all viral rather than A-list celebrities.
  • The commercial’s plot: The trio, en route to Vegas, loses service—only saved by Google Pixel’s T-Mobile-powered satellite emergency signal (plus “mid-relationship drama”).
  • This deal exemplifies vertical integration: Cooper stars in and creates the ads, airs them on her own media, and leverages her platform for maximum exposure and revenue.

• Notable Quotes:

  • “The founding father didn’t launch a protein and she didn’t launch a tequila. She launched an ad agency.” — Nick (00:46)
  • “Don Draper lost the pitch and he is not happy about it.” — Jack (07:05)
  • “This is a classic case of vertical integration, is it not? Like an oil company buying the train that transport their oil. Alex wants to own the entire value chain.” — Nick (09:51)

• Revenue Streams:

  • Jack and Nick count nine distinct monetization channels in the Google/T-Mobile deal, from starring and producing to platform integration and event activations. (08:53-09:49)

• Takeaway (09:51):

  • “The ultimate daddy business move: leave no opportunity unmonetized.”

2. “Lamborghini of Strollers” – Ultra-Luxury Baby Gear

(Segment starts at 10:17)

• Key Highlights:

  • Aston Martin launches $5,000 strollers; Lamborghini offers a $6,000 model, marketed with claims of car-like precision and luxury (leather, branding, bespoke seat belts).
  • Other high-end brands (Christian Dior, Fendi, Loro Piana) also enter the luxury stroller market.
  • This aligns with how car manufacturers (like Ferrari) expand revenue via “brand” merchandise, amounting to hundreds of millions annually.
  • Low birth rates (below 2.0 kids per couple) in developed countries mean fewer babies—but more spending per child, especially as parents are older and wealthier.

• Notable Quotes:

  • “This thing’s not driven by horsepower. It is driven by parent power.” — Nick (11:25)
  • “If Kendall Roy has a third kid with a second marriage, his assistant is buying one of these things for their fourth yacht.” — Jack (12:53)
  • “Fertility is affecting everything now.” — Jack (13:26)
  • “Parents have more money to spend on a smaller number of kids.” — Jack (14:20)

• Industry Context:

  • Fashion and luxury brands are expanding into premium lifestyle experiences—and now, into the “most expensive experience of all: children.” (13:17)

• Takeaway (14:11):

  • “Add all of that up, and you get the emergence of sports car strollers.”

3. CBS News Gets Disrupted: The Rise of Radical Moderates

(Segment starts at 16:26)

• Key Highlights:

  • Paramount acquires Bari Weiss’ media startup, The Free Press, for $150M and names her Editor-in-Chief of CBS News—even though she has no television news experience.
  • Bari Weiss, known for leaving the NYT amid ideological conflicts, aims to target “the middle 70” — Americans who identify as center-left to center-right, alienated by partisan outlets.
  • Her mandate: restore trust in media through “more facts, less bias, and less political tribalism,” catering to “raging moderates.”
  • This pivot is enabled by the Ellison family (Larry and son David), now driving the legacy CBS brand.

• Notable Quotes:

  • “Barry says that she will gain Americans trust by bringing news that reflects reality. In her words, more facts, less bias, and less political tribalism.” — Jack (19:08)
  • “Her lack of status quo is likely a plus in this hiring decision because she won’t be anchored by how things have been done in the past.” — Jack (20:37)
  • “When hiring someone to disrupt your organization, experience can be a negative now.” — Jack (20:03)

• Takeaway (20:51):

  • “When your organization has a big problem and you’re hiring someone to disrupt that organization, experience in the same industry can actually be a liability.”

Bonus Mini-Trends & Economic Indicators

Knitting Economy: A Wooly Signal

(Segment starts at 01:40)

• Hand-knitting and sewing see a 75% revenue jump at New York’s Knitting Center, indicating inflation is pushing people to DIY clothing.
• Cultural trend: “Knitting is actually an economic indicator… when inflation rises, so does sewing.” (02:25)

Quick Hits: Other Business News

(Segment starts at 21:48)

• Shein launches its first brick-and-mortar Paris location, sparking backlash from the mayor.
• OpenAI secures another mammoth chip deal, this time with AMD ($35B); its Nvidia partnership stands, but AMD stock soars.
• Tesla’s mysterious wheel-spin teaser video boosts its stock 5%, igniting speculation over new models.

Memorable Moments & Humor

• Nick’s “leprechaun voice” to describe Ferrari-esque luxury brands. (01:06)
• Playful banter: “I don’t wear that sweater. That sweater wears me, dude. My confidence shrinks to the size of an almond…” — Jack (24:11)
• Factoid: Baseball team names like Red Sox come from the only uniform distinction a century ago: sock color. (23:20)

Representative Quotes (with Timestamps)

• Vertical Integration:
  “This is vertical integration, Daddy style.” — Jack (06:08)

• Knitting as Economic Indicator:
  “When inflation rises, so does sewing.” — Nick (02:25)

• Luxury Parenting:
  “Fewer babies, but more money for each one.” — Jack (21:27)
  “Oh, you like the sound of those pistons? Yeah, that’s my three-month-old.” — Nick (21:22)

• News Disruption:
  “Radical moderates. That’s who she’s targeting with CBS News.” — Jack (18:52)

• Disruptive Hires:
  “Experience in the same industry can actually be a liability.” — Jack (20:51)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Knitting Economy Cold Open: 01:40
• Alex Cooper's Ad Agency Story: 05:59 – 10:02
• Luxury Strollers Story: 10:17 – 14:24
• CBS/Bari Weiss Story: 16:26 – 21:38
• Quick Hits (Shein, OpenAI, Tesla): 21:48 – 23:14
• Best Fact Yet (Red Sox): 23:20 – 23:53

Tone and Style

The episode is trademark “T Boy”: breezy, quick-witted, accessible, full of sharp pop culture references, and peppered with playful one-liners and cultural callbacks.

Conclusion

In this episode, Nick and Jack lay out the day’s most intriguing business stories—the rise of creator-run ad agencies, the birth of the ultra-premium parenting economy, and a dramatic “raging moderate” shakeup at one of America’s biggest newsrooms. Each story is dissected for what it tells us about evolving markets and social trends, always with smart humor and practical insight for your next conversation over oatmeal.